The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-08-19

must that they need divine grace 20 help
them In their work. In this day, when
there are SO many rivalries in your line Of
business, you will be tempted TO overstats
the amount Of assets and the extent Of the
surplus, and you will Be tempted to abuse
the franchise Of the company and make up
the dehcit Of the year by adding some
Of tho receipts Of another year; and you
will be tempted to send out mean, anony.
nous circulars derogatory to other compa-
nies, forgetful Of the fact that anonymous
communication means only two things
the cowardice Of tho author and the ineffi.
cisncy Of the police in allowing such .
thing to be dated any where save inside Of
. penitentiary. Under the mighty press.
urs many have gone down, and you will
follow them IL you have too much conf.
dence in yourself, and do not appeal TO the
Lord for positive help.
But II any Of you belong 70 that mis-.
creant class Of people who without any
financial ability, organize themselves into
what they call life insurance company,
with q pretended capital Of $4,000
or $4,000, then vote yourself into
the lucrative position, and then take
all the premiums for yourself, and
then, at the approach of the State super.
intendent, drop all into the hands Of those
life insurance undertakers whose business
it is to gather up the remains of defunct
organizations and bury them in their own
vault-then, I say, you had better get out
Of the business, and disgorge the widows'
houses you have swallowed.
But my word is to all those who arc
legitimately engaged in the business:
You ought to be better than other men,
not only because of the responsibilities
that rest upon you, but becase the truth il
ever confronting you that your stay ON
earth is uncertain, and your life matter
Of a few days or years. Do not those
black-edged letters that come into your
Office make you think? Does not the doc.
tors certificate on the death claim give
you . thrill! Your periodicals, your
advertisements, and even the litho-
graphy Of your policies warn
you that you are mortal! According to
your own showing the chances that you
will die this year are at least two per cent.
Are you prepared for the tremendous ex.
igency? The most condemned man in the
judgment day will be the unprepared life
insurance man, for the simple reason that
human exit, and he can not say:
III did not think"
His whole business was TO think on that
one thing. Oh. my brother, get insured
for eternity. In consideration Of what
Christ has done in your behalf, have the In.
denture this day made out, signed and
sealed with the red seal Of the cross.
But have words of encouragement and
- - -
engaged in the fire insurance business.
You are ordained by God to stand between
rs and the most raging element Of nature.
We are indebted to you for what the Ma.
tional Board Of Underwriters and the Con.
vention Of Chiefs Of the Fire Department.
have effected through your suggestions,
and through your encouragement. We
are indebted to you for what you have Of.
fected in the construction Of buildings,
and in the change in the habits Of our
cities; 80 that by scientific principles or.
derby companies extinguish the fire, in.
stead of the old-time riots which used
to sxtinguish the citizens. And
We are indebted to you for the
successful demands you have made for tho
repeal of unjust laws-for the battle you
have waged against incendiarism and ar.
son-for the fatal blow you have given to
to the theory that corporations have no
souls, by tho cheerfulness and promptituds
with which you have met losses, from
which you might have escaped through
the technically Of the law.
do not know any class Of men in our
midst more high-toned and worthy Of con-
fidence than these men, and yet I have
sometimes feared that while your chief
business Is to calculate about losses on
earthly property, you might without suffi.
Gent thought 60 into that which, in re.
gard to your soul, in your own par
lance might be caiIed "hazards,"
"extra hazards" Especial hazards" An
unforgiven sin in the soul is moro inflam.
mable and explosive than camphine or
nitro-glycerine. However the rates may
be-yea, though the whole earth were paid
down to you in one solid premium-you can
not afford to loose your soul. Do not take
that risk lest it be said hereafter that while
in this world you had keen business faculty.
when you went out Of the world you went
out everlastingly insolvent.
The scientific Hitchcocks, and Sillimans,
and Mitchells Of the world have united
with the sacred writer's to make us believe
that there is coming . conhagration, to
sweep across the earth, compared with
which that of Chicago in 1871, and that Of
Boston in 1877, and that Of New York in 1895
were mere nothings. Brooklyn on fire!
New York on fire! Charleston ON IRE
San Francisco on fire.! Canton on fire! st
Petersburgh on fire! Paris ON fire! Lon.
don on fro! the Andes ON fire! the Apo
mines on fire! the Himalayas ON fire! What
will be peculiar about the day will be that
the water with which we put our great
fires will itself take flame; and the Xissis.
sippi, and the Ohio, and tho st. Lawrence,
and Lake Erie, and tho Atlantic and
Pacific oceans, and tumbling Niagara,
shall with red tongues lick the heavens.
The geological heats Of the center Of the
world will burn out toward the circumfer.
ence, and the heats Of the outside will
burn down from the circumference to the
center, and this world will become, not
only according to the Bible, but according
to science, q living coal-the living coal
afterwArd whitening into ashes, the ashes
scattered by the breath of the last hur-
ricane, and all that will be left Of this glo-
rious planet will be the flakes Of ashes
fallen ON other worlds.
Oh! ON that day will you be hre-proof,
or will you be . total loss: Will you be
rescued or will you be consumed: When
this great cathedral Of the world, with the
pillars of rocks, and its pinnacles OF
mountains, and its cellar Of golden mine,
- ,.-kolsko,~y ~ clo,,I end